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10 to 12 years ago, my first time homebuyers were spending under $150,000 and getting a small home in a nice area. Nowadays, my first time homebuyers are spending closer to $200,000 to $220,000.
In one sense, HGTV has helped...explaining to sellers that they are selling a HOUSE, not THEIR HOME. Explaining that you have to de-clutter and CLEAN CLEAN CLEAN. What doesn't help? Nowadays, HGTV tells buyers that they must have hardwood floors, granite countertops and stainless steel appliances. And...buyers want that! BUT...they want it without having to pay for it. They think it is the standard!
The "affordable housing" in downtown Raleigh has always been in areas that no one wanted to buy. Now, people ARE buying in those areas and therefore, pushing the renters out. It is a difficult situation for renters. People can buy for less than rent but if you can't buy, what do you do?
Things change. Sometimes for the better and sometimes not.
I don't think there is any place where new construction costs have remained flat.
Materials cost more everywhere.
If the bill of materials is flat or lower over the last 3 years, the builder has pulled a LOT of structure out of the building.
And, land is pricier here, as noted, in the Falls of Neuse/540 area, it is very expensive.
People buying a first home on a tight budget need to consider what generations have done, and that is to buy something resale, and make it their own over time.
"Couldn't find anything in their price range that meets their criteria?" It happens in EVERY price range.
You can't use the terms Prime Real Estate and Affordable together. They are mutually exclusive terms.
Why is this so hard to comprehend?
I think the problem is the definition of affordable has changed so much compared to what it was 3-5 years ago. Income levels haven't drastically changed have they, but the same houses and rental properties have gone up in price considerably. For lower income families that's a big issue. Sure they can live further out to save money, but if many are taking the bus just to get to work it's just not realistic moving even further away. In the coming years they may not have a choice and will be effectively forced out of the area because rent is too high.
Location: Chapel Hill, NC, formerly NoVA and Phila
9,775 posts, read 15,776,851 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bfkidd
You can't use the terms Prime Real Estate and Affordable together. They are mutually exclusive terms.
Why is this so hard to comprehend?
Not necessarily so. There are affordable areas in cities that are close to jobs and downtown amenities, but they are often higher-crime, lower-income areas that many wealthier people don't want to live in but its location would be considered prime and it would be affordable. When all of the surrounding higher-priced areas become too expensive and people's alternative is to move farther out, the close-in lower-income area begins to look attractive, particularly to developers and that's when gentrification happens. And the lower-income people begin to be priced out of their neighborhood as it begins to change. I can think of several areas of DC where this was the case - places no one would set foot in 20 years ago even though it was a prime location, and now people would givel their eye tooth to get in there.
Location: Chapel Hill, NC, formerly NoVA and Phila
9,775 posts, read 15,776,851 times
Reputation: 10880
Quote:
Originally Posted by westcoastbabe
For some odd known reason people like the couple in the article that moved to NC from Seattle have a misconception that everything is dirt cheap in NC, and its not. Speaking as a NC native who just relocated to the Phx metropolitan area, I must say things like groceries, real estate, gas, etc or much cheaper than NC. Real eye-opener on how things were much more expensive in NC. People ask me all the time about Charlotte and I always tell them to do their homework very carefully. Yes it may seem like Charlotte is the place to be on paper and online, but not always the case...Again..do your homework very carefully....And visit. Visit 2-3 times before actually relocating.
What you say is true, but this couple in the article lived in Raleigh before moving to Seattle, so they weren't moving here blind.
What you say is true, but this couple in the article lived in Raleigh before moving to Seattle, so they weren't moving here blind.
However, they claim that before they left 3 short years ago, affordable housing was plentiful in the just the area they wanted and it is not available now. I'm just not buying that. Sure some housing has gone up since then, but not to the extent that affordable turned into not. In fact if there was a low price here or there it was likely an anomaly due to the crisis or an individual distressed sale, not as part of some widespread affordable housing. In North Raleigh housing has not been available much at "affordable " levels for many years.
The "affordable housing" in downtown Raleigh has always been in areas that no one wanted to buy. Now, people ARE buying in those areas and therefore, pushing the renters out. It is a difficult situation for renters.
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My dad grew up in NYC and was always getting pushed out of apartments. We were raised that you buy your own home - period. This is why. There are positives and negatives to both owning and renting but my dad always said "you can't be forced out of a house you own".
However, they claim that before they left 3 short years ago, affordable housing was plentiful in the just the area they wanted and it is not available now. I'm just not buying that. Sure some housing has gone up since then, but not to the extent that affordable turned into not. In fact if there was a low price here or there it was likely an anomaly due to the crisis or an individual distressed sale, not as part of some widespread affordable housing. In North Raleigh housing has not been available much at "affordable " levels for many years.
What's worse, the article points out an increase in prices of homes sold of 11% over 4 years on average. Not only is 2.75% per year not some crazy housing bubble, but it is at the very worst what I would consider a typical expected, perhaps even minimal, year over year increase.
How anyone can stay in a job that doesn't give them an annual raise to stay above inflation, then have the nerve to sit there and complain about income levels not keeping up, is beyond me. People need to understand if your salary is remaining flat while the rest of the world is responding to inflation, it's your own fault. Get off your butts and either march into your bosses office and explain why it's unreasonable to expect you to fall behind each year, or simply move on to another job without even telling them why. If lacking skills or confidence to do that, it's NOT the housing markets problem.
This article seems to be describing people who went to Seattle (an area of higher cost of living) for little or no pay raise, then returned to the triangle area at the salary level they were at 3 years prior.
Bottom line is that managing one's life poorly leads to unpleasant living -- don't blame the local real estate market for that.
How anyone can stay in a job that doesn't give them an annual raise to stay above inflation, then have the nerve to sit there and complain about income levels not keeping up, is beyond me. People need to understand if your salary is remaining flat while the rest of the world is responding to inflation, it's your own fault. Get off your butts and either march into your bosses office and explain why it's unreasonable to expect you to fall behind each year
Excuse me while I catch my breath from laughing......
I guess you haven't worked in a large corporate environment for a while..or if ever, where your salary is controlled by greedy corporate executives and accountants and not by your immediate manager. In the corporate world you are just a number and cost cutting is job one up to and including annual employee COL salary increases, bonuses, and benefits. If one were to take your approach and "march into the managers office", he/she would just laugh at you because they're in the same boat as you are. I've not met anyone who's job position wasn't replaceable by someone else for less money...especially by workers in India or China. No one person is that critical to the success or failure of the corporation...even management.
It's true that younger workers may have more flexibility in their early career path to some degree with today's transferable 401K plans, but older workers who are still working under the traditional pension and medical retirement benefit plans can't just jump ship without incurring severe financial impacts when losing retirement benefits they've worked decades to earn...and this affects everyone including the highly educated employees. I'll leave the age discrimination practices against the hiring of older experienced workers for another day, but let's just say things aren't always as black or white as you see them.
... If one were to take your approach and "march into the managers office", he/she would just laugh at you because they're in the same boat as you are. ...
Right on, Starglow. C-D won't let me rep you twice in a row, so this post says "Right On."
[From someone who has Been There, Done That, Paid Those Dues!]
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